Lewis positive about chances for an Andre Smith deal

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis struck a surprisingly positive note during his pre-draft news conference, saying there was a chance right tackle Andre Smith could sign prior to Thursday.

“I’m hopeful we can get a solution prior to [Thursday’s] draft. I know Andre would like to get it done,” Lewis said, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s official website. “I think he’d feel better about things so he doesn’t get lost without a chair.”

Asked to forecast the chance of a deal, Lewis reportedly smiled and said: “The sun is emerging maybe.”

The imminent threat of a younger, cheaper player taking their job is a great incentive for many veterans, especially in the days leading up to the draft.

The Bengals seemed to be taking a risk when they tagged defensive end Michael Johnson instead of Smith, but the market for right tackles not named Gosder Cherilus fell through the floor, and Smith hasn’t gotten the kind of interest many assumed a month and a half ago.

And while there’s no deal yet, the Bengals’ hard-line (i.e. cheap) negotiating tactics appear to have paid off again.

Why is paying what is something worth “cheap”? I would think it is rational. Instead of taking, yet another, cheap shot, you could list who could afford Dre at 7 MM a year. After subtracting around 5 MM for draft picks, it’s less than a dozen teams, as I recall. That’s assuming the other teams would not take one of the other, cheaper, RTs still on the marketplace. Dre over-played his hand, just like during the negotiations of his rookie deal. Next time put the blame where it belongs – on the agent and the player.

Nothing wrong with how the Bengals played this one. With his history of erratic behavior (Leaving the combine, showing up to his pro day out of shape, firing his first agent, firing his second agent to go back to his first, holding out his entire rookie camp, not only being fat his first two seasons but being so fat he broke his foot twice) the Bengals were right to let him test free agency knowing no other team would pay him like a top OT like he wants to be.

Stiller43 says:Apr 23, 2013 1:48 PM

You dont draft an above average RT with the 8th overall pick. He was a bust that Cincy can easily replace.

He’s really a solid player, and just entering his prime. Did he want too much money? Yes. Will he still get paid? Yes. Andre is just entering his prime, and will be a road grader for years to come. Get the deal done fellas!

No one is harder on the B’s than me, but can’t blame them on this one. Here is the main fact: NOT ONE TEAM even approached Smith about a contract. Think about that. The Browns have $33 million in cap space, spent a ton on a bunch of average guys and can not only get an above average RT who is all of 26, but weaken a division opponent at the same time, and they said, hell no. So the team you always call cheap has signed their own starter/key reserve FA’s Smith, Pacman Jones, Huber, Malauluga, Terrence Newman, Gilberry, and Geathers; franchised Michael Johnson, and signed James Harrison and TE Smith to replace Manny Lawson and Richard Quinn and still have 9 draft choices including three in the first 2 rounds (and still have about $20 million in cap space if they sign Smith. Got to give credit where credit is due.

303bengalguy says:Apr 23, 2013 2:34 PM

Give the guy 12M total for 4 years… book it and move on to the next piece of the puzzle.

I see a consistent pattern with the site. Why the hate towards the Bengals? If the Steelers sign a guy for a value or for the righ price, they get credited with being well run and sticking to their price. Bengals do the same thing and they are called cheap.

So, for the record calling the Bengals cheap by not over paying a RT like Andre Smith is a cheap shot. Enjoy your site, I just don’t enjoy the cheap shots at Bengals owner and management at a time when they are as well run as any organization in football.

bonniebengal says:Apr 23, 2013 4:39 PM

luvnitz 2: You are right on the money. I also see a tendency on this site to comment on things that they have no knowledge about when it comes to the Bengals. For example their comments above about Johnson vs. Smith: Johnson is a much more valuable player than Smith at this point. I would be happy if they walked away from Smith, who had begun gaining his weight back DURING THE SEASON last year.

I am so tired of the cheap word being thrown around the Bengals. Just because you are willing to pay a player actual market value and not the ransom that certain players are looking to get DOES NOT make you cheap. It makes you a smart shopper and business person. Why haven’t we used all of the cap space available this year on mediocre free agents you ask? Well that is because the front office is trying to roll it over to this summer when they can begin to extend the core of what is a very talented and very young defensive team to create sustainability. Maybe more Americans who complain about their finances should take a lesson here on how to really do things.

Wow! Bengals fans can’t even admit that their owner is cheap anymore?
Someone actually said they are one of the best run organizations in the league?!?
Holy moly, Cincinnatians sure do have a taste for that orange and black Kool-Aid!
Best run organization in the league, even though management has never won a playoff game in 20+ years? Better than the Patriots and Steelers huh? If best run means setting out to make money and nothing else, then sure, they are run well. But they are also notoriously cheap to that end.

Not drinking the Kool-Aid, but tired of the lazy reporting done on the Bengals, which happens more often than not. If a darling team, like say Pittsburgh or New England, doesn’t want to spend money – it’s “smart business” or “the Patriot Way”; if the Bengals do the same, it’s cheap. Especially in the this case, when a good – not great – right tackle wants more money than the top left tackles. That’s not cheap, that’s sanity.